Tortugas

[Dave Taylor]

I had a dentist appointment today and since I already had a day off of school, I went to bother Laurie at Surratt House. While there I popped in the research center hoping to find something on O’Laughlen’s exact resting place, but did not really to expect to come away with a distinct answer. For once, however, the answer was easily found in Dr. Hall’s files. The research center had the transcript of a letter written on Dec. 2, 1870, ordering the folks at Fort Jefferson to, “cause the remains of Michael O’Laughlin, a citizen prisoner, who died at this post in September, 1867, and was buried on Bird Key, to be disinterred and securely sealed in a box,” for shipment up to Baltimore. Two days later a response was received stating that the order had been fulfilled with O’Laughlin having been, “disinterred from Bird Key, placed in a zinc-lined case, made for the purpose,” and placed on board the steamer Matchless for transport to Key West and thence to Baltimore. Coincidentally, the Matchless was the same ship that had taken Dr. Mudd away from Fort Jefferson after his pardon.

So it seems that the case looks pretty clear that Michael O’Laughlen was buried on Bird Key after his death from Yellow Fever in 1867. Today, Bird Key is completely submerged underwater to the southwest of the Fort.